The BJP with seven seats having reduced the Congress to three Lok Sabha seats out of 14, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has started an early, sustained campaign for the assembly elections due in eight months. The Congress has 75 out of 126 assembly seats and is looking for a fourth term.

Almost daily, Gogoi he has been highlighting his government’s success stories as well as new promises. Last weekend, his office put out a statement that the government would build toilets in six lakh homes this financial year at a cost of Rs 860 crore. The six lakh target in eight months comes against an actual installation rate of 23 lakh rural toilets since 2001. Another statement said while his government had provided Indira Awas Yojana houses to 16.21 lakh BPL families since 2001, over one lakh more BPL families would get such houses in the current year.

The government has also undertaken a scheme of Rs 361.80 crore for reducing the burden of electricity bills. It had provided free electricity connections to over 11.73 lakh BPL families, and over 37.06 lakh more would be covered in the current year.

Last week, Gogoi held a videoconference with deputy commissioners of all districts and directed them to address people’s problems under the “People’s government at the people’s doorstep” programme. He also announced a Rural Development Corporation and a Women Development Corporation.